Finally
by evieeden
Summary: Bella and Paul are facing their second Mating Season together. Outtake from Part of the Pack. Advent story written for 16th December.


**Happy 16****th**** December. Today's advent story is another outtake from Part of the Pack, only this time, you will probably have to read that first to understand what's going on.**

**Big thanks go to the wonderful idealskeptic who is slowly and surely getting me through these advent stories, as well as betaing most of them, including this one. As always, I do not own Twilight.**

**Finally**

Paul was happy. Or, at least, he was trying to be happy.

Bella could see the forcedness of his smile when he greeted her in the morning.

After much persuading and pleading, and an awful lot of talking, she had finally consented to move in with him, leaving the safety of Leah and Sam's house a week ago. Living with Paul had been nice so far. They had cuddled in the evenings, bickered over the washing up and slept practically on top of each other, but somehow it hadn't been enough – not for her, and certainly not for him.

She knew what it was, of course.

Mating season.

This time last year she had been still torn between her feelings for Paul, Jake and Embry, or she had been until Paul forced the issue by claiming her. She bit her lip at the memory. It wasn't one she liked to reflect on or one she particularly wanted repeated. Paul had then spent most of his time following her around and 'guarding' her from any male attention, his wolf demanding that he make her his fully.

It hadn't happened then. She had been too raw from the experience and she hadn't actually forgiven him until the late summer. Mating season had mostly passed in a haze of anger, bewilderment and annoyance.

This year though...

She hadn't decided what to do about this year yet. Paul was definitely more on edge than he had been last year though. Just a few months ago, he would have been ecstatic at her moving in. Now he offered her a pained smile when they woke every morning before scurrying off to the bathroom, where she suspected he then took a painfully cold shower. She knew it wouldn't be long before he started following her everywhere again, especially when she went up to Port Angeles for her classes.

When he emerged from the bathroom that morning, he greeted her with a kiss and then left for a pack meeting. Bella crossed the hall into the wet room for her own shower, and then caught a glimpse of herself in the mirror.

She looked good. She looked happy and healthy, and she knew a lot of that was down to Paul taking care of her.

On an impulse, she swept her hair to one side and stared at the bite mark on her neck – her claiming mark. Even after a year, it still hadn't faded, the angry red lines marring her otherwise smooth skin. When she had asked Sam why it hadn't faded over time, he had explained that it was a warning sign to other males that she belonged to Paul, and that the scar would only fade once she had received a mating mark as well.

She tilted her head from side to side, looking at the mark from different angles. Whichever way she turned though, it was still there, reminding her of the past. Bella wondered if she was subconsciously punishing Paul with this mark, taunting him with reminders of what he had done and what she had sworn he would never have.

Maybe it was time to move past all of that.

He had begged for forgiveness and after a lot of conversation and arguments, she had granted it. Hell, she had even moved in with him that week, something she never would've done if she wasn't prepared to take their relationship forward.

So why was she still clinging to her reservations about the mating?

That evening they went over to Sam and Leah's for a pack barbecue. The second they walked in, Bella could already see the changed behaviour that the dominant wolves were displaying.

Kim was sat practically on top of Jared, his arm tightly banded around her waist. Bella remembered that she had practically disappeared from sight last mating season, Jared unwilling to trust any of the other wolves around her, even if she did bear his mark. Leah and Sam were also stood slightly closer to each other than usual, and as Leah circulated around the fire pit, Sam's eyes followed her every move.

The younger wolves were moving around the fire cautiously, avoiding their elder pack mates and keeping their eyes lowered.

Jacob, Embry and Quil were huddled together, like usual, although both Jake and Embry perked up when she and Paul rounded the house. Even though both boys had taken a step back from Bella, following her claiming, there was still a closeness between them, one that set Paul's teeth on edge.

"Bella!" Jacob ran forward upon catching sight of her and swung her up into a bear hug. "How've you been? Ready to run away with me and leave Paul behind yet?"

It was said in jest but Paul still heard the bitter twist to the words.

"Jacob!" Bella warned, smacking him on the arm and drawing back out of their embrace. "I won't talk to you tonight if you're going to be moody, you know."

He offered her an apologetic shrug and throwing an arm over her shoulders, led her away to the table where Leah was beginning to set out food.

"Come on; let's get you something to eat before the wolves descend." He laughed at his joke.

Bella cast a glance at Paul behind her before allowing herself to be led away. She missed seeing Sam clamp a restraining hand on Paul's shoulder to stop him from lunging at Jacob

She couldn't fail to notice his downcast eyes when she returned to him with three plates piled high with food. He was quiet through the rest of the evening as well and Bella found herself studying both him, and the other mated couples, carefully.

Leah and Kim were practically draped all over their respective wolves, while they sat side by side, comfortable, but not especially intimate. At one point he was talking to Brady and reached out to grab Bella's hand, only to quickly release it once he realised what he had done. The relief on his face when she had taken the initiative and wound her fingers between his was almost heartbreaking in its intensity.

The tension in his body never really disappeared throughout the night though and they both let out sighs of relief when it was time to go home.

Later that night, Bella lay in bed thinking.

She tried to remember why she was still holding herself back from Paul and came up blank. The only thing she could think of that was vaguely worrying her was the prospect of being bitten again.

Her claiming bite had hurt. Paul had been acting on instinct when he did it and it had ended up as a messy injury. Even though it had healed relatively quickly, it had left a large, jagged scar on her throat and she was secretly afraid that the mating mark would be the same. Both Leah and Kim had explained the difference to her and the process of receiving the mark, but it hadn't made any of Bella's fears disappear.

Paul snorted in his sleep next to her and rolled closer so his body was pressed closer to hers, sensing her distress even in his sleep. One heavy arm wrapped around her waist and his face snuffled into her hair.

Bella smiled and ran her fingers along the arm surrounding her. Paul's lips unconsciously pursed against her cheek.

His presence next to her made her feel so warm and relaxed and... safe.

He made her feel safe. Wasn't that what she needed?

She felt safe in his arms because she knew he wouldn't hurt her. The last year had been good for them both; it had given them a chance to get comfortable and close with each other in a way they hadn't been before. She knew, deep down, that Paul would never hurt her again, would do everything in his power to keep her from harm, so wouldn't it stand that he would protect her in this too?

Setting her apprehension of the actual bite to one side, Bella turned her mind to the other issue involved in the claiming.

Sex.

She could readily admit to herself that she missed it.

She had gotten so accustomed to regular sex before that her year of enforced abstinence was getting to her. She wasn't afraid to take care of herself in the meantime, but her fingers just weren't doing it for her anymore, plus every time she made use of the detachable shower head, she would find Paul standing uncomfortably near the bathroom door when she left the room, a pained look on his face.

Bella wondered if he missed sex with her as much as she did with him

She was still musing over her dilemma the next morning, her hands wrapped tightly around her coffee cup, even though she wasn't drinking from it.

"Bella? Bella?"

"Huh?" She glanced up to find Paul watching her, a concerned look on his face.

"I've been saying your name for about the last five minutes. Are you okay?"

She didn't answer him, taking the opportunity to study his face. His eyes were fixed on her, scanning her body anxiously. From where she was sitting, she could see that his body was faintly trembling.

"I'm fine, really."

He arched an eyebrow in disbelief, but didn't say anything, didn't push her like he used to.

And that was the problem, right there, Bella decided.

Not being mated, living in this stasis was hurting both of them, leaving them unsure of each other and therefore unable to act as they usually would. It made them both awkward.

Bella missed how they used to be around each other – the teasing, the flirting, the comfort, the friendship, the passion... She wanted it back.

And that made her choice for her.

Scraping her chair back across the tile, she stood up sharply.

"Bella?" Paul took a step towards her and then paused before stepping back again.

Bella's mouth tightened. That was exactly the kind of thing that had to stop. They had to stop second guessing each other.

She held out her hand and Paul took it, letting her lead him out of the kitchen, across the garden and into the forest.

Most of her previous encounters with Paul had taken place in the forest and she knew that he felt happy there, the man and the wolf at one in the natural surroundings. It also didn't seem right to Bella for such a primal thing to take place indoors.

She ambled randomly through the trees and then stopped. Turning to face Paul, she caught his eyes before crossing her arms and yanking her shirt up over her head.

Paul swallowed heavily, his eyes immediately darting down to the exposed skin of her stomach and then lingering on her bra-covered breasts.

"What...what's going on, Bella?"

She smiled to herself as his voice caught. He looked so hopeful, and yet so nervous to hope at the same time.

Moving closer to him, she rested a hand on his abs, enjoying the feeling of the muscle contracting under her palm. Her other hand wrapped around his neck and drew him down to her. She paused with her lips a hair's breadth from his and waited for him to make the next move. She had taken the first step, but she was still shy enough that she didn't want to make all the moves herself.

Thankfully, Paul took his cue, closing the gap between his mouth and kissing her, softly at first and then, when she offered no objections, roughly. His tongue plunged into her mouth, entwining with her own and he bit at her lower lip. She could feel the edges of his control begin to fray.

Taking control of the kiss, Bella ran her tongue along Paul's lips and then pulled back.

Keeping eye contact, she kicked off her shoes and socks and moved her hands downwards to undo the buttons of her pants. She pushed the jeans over her hips and shuffling her legs until she could step out of them, and then reached behind her back for the clasp of her bra.

Paul's hands stilled hers and she looked up to see why.

"Are you sure you want to do this?" he asked. "You know once we start, I won't be able to stop." His fingers came up to brush over the scar on her neck. "I'll want to take everything."

Bella kissed him again.

"I know," she breathed when they finally broke apart. Standing on her toes, she licked up his jaw and whispered in his ear. "You can take it all."

The thread holding his control together snapped and Bella ended up on her back on the forest floor, her underwear torn off so she lay naked beneath Paul. His cut offs had been discarded somewhere while her world was tilted upside down and she relished the sensation of his nude body pressed against hers for the first time in over a year.

They kissed hungrily and then, with a cheeky grin, he moved his mouth downwards. He pressed kisses over her chin, down her neck and across her chest until he sucked a nipple into his mouth, flicking his tongue over the hard nub.

Bella groaned as his hand came up to squeeze and caress her other breast, his thumb brushing over the other nipple.

He didn't stop there though.

His mouth slid further down, over her stomach and past her hips. He stopped in between her thighs and began to lap at her wet centre with his tongue. Bella squirmed at his ministrations, small pants and gasps escaping her. Her hands scrabbled at the ground beneath her, searching for something to cling to. In the end, she settled for gripping Paul's hair tightly, directing him to where she wanted the most attention. He obliged and seconds later, his lips latched around her clit, his tongue moving rapidly over the sensitive bundle of nerves. Bella shrieked, her thighs clamping around Paul's head and she felt her inner walls begin to flutter.

Paul's actions became faster, as if he could sense her impending orgasm, and he slid two fingers inside her, pistoning them in and out, coaxing her along. With one sharp nip of his teeth on her clit, Bella fell over the edge, screaming out his name.

He continued to lick at her folds as she came down from her high, his hands stroking soothingly over her sides, calming her nerves.

When she had recovered, Bella tugged at Paul's hair, dragging him back up her body. He had a cocky smirk on his face that she knew her orgasm had put there. Despite all of his nervousness in dealing with her over the last year, sex had never been something he had worried about. He had always known that they were amazing physically together.

They kissed, and Bella could taste her own juices on her face. It turned her on even more.

"Paul," she moaned, "I want you to fuck me."

His mouth immediately descended to her neck and he sucked at the claiming mark he had left there. For the first time, she felt the pleasurable side effects of the mark and she squealed as sparks shot through her body from her neck to her centre.

Paul pulled back, panting. It seemed that sucking on the mark had had the same arousing effect on him as it had on Bella.

"I need you...to turn over," he growled.

She immediately understood what he was trying to say. It was the wolf part of him that would claim her, and therefore this had to be done wolf-style. Stretching herself out underneath him, she rolled over onto her stomach, leaves and dirt sticking to her perspiring skin.

Paul growled loudly at the sight of her submissive posture, and the vibrations from his chest echoed through both of their bodies.

Instinct took over and he quickly dipped his hand between her legs to make sure that she was ready for him before he lost control. Gripping her hips, he jerked her lower body upwards and lined up his cock against her opening. He paused for a split second before sinking into her hot centre.

They both groaned at the feeling of being connected like this again.

Bella's fingers sank into the dirt ground. She felt so full, so complete. She didn't remember it ever feeling like this before. Or maybe her memory was dulled from twelve months of not having this delicious feeling of being possessed.

Paul stopped briefly to allow her to get used to him again, but when she pushed her ass back towards him in encouragement, he drew back slowly before plunging into her again, harder and sharper this time, enjoying her grunt of pleasure.

Delicacy fell by the wayside as they moved together, each thrust coming quicker and harder than the last. Bella's arms had been restrained by Paul's hands so there was little more she could do than moan and sigh and mewl out her pleasure.

Language seemed to have abandoned Paul as well and the only sound he could make was a near-constant stream of growling.

His eyes swept along the expanse of Bella's bare back and halted at the scar on her neck. He was fixated on that spot, never taking his eyes off it as he released on of Bella's arms to reach around and played with her clit.

She was murmuring quietly now, but he could still hear her.

"...oh please, oh please...just do it, please just do it now..."

Without warning, he leaned forward and sank his teeth into the already-scarred skin, drawing blood.

Bella screamed loudly, but it wasn't a cry of pain. She was flung headlong into her orgasm by his bite, something she hadn't expected, and she cried out in protest seconds later when he removed his teeth.

"Mine!" he roared.

"Yours," she agreed, her breath coming out in pants.

Something clicked into place then, the final link in the chain that connected them, and a peace washed over Bella that she hadn't felt before.

She vaguely registered Paul sinking into her for the last time as he emptied his seed into her body, but nothing truly registered until he pulled out of her and collapsed to one side, sending shivers down Bella's spine.

She immediately felt like she was too far from him and she blindly reached out to grab his arm, pulling it back over her shoulders. Paul laughed softly, but obligingly shuffled closer to her and drew her into his embrace.

"How do you feel?" he asked quietly.

Bella smiled at him. "I feel good." She frowned as she struggled to put the sheer contentment she was feeling into words. "Like I wasn't really me before, but now I am, if that makes sense."

"It makes perfect sense." He lowered his head to kiss her again.

Caught up in the delicious feelings he was stirring up inside of her, Bella was taken aback when a cool breeze wound through the trees and chilled the parts of her that weren't pressed against Paul's warm body.

He felt her shiver and regretfully sighed before pulling away.

"Come on. Let's get inside before you get hypothermia."

Bella pouted. "I don't want to."

He laughed at that. "I don't want to either, but I'd rather have you healthy and warm inside, than freezing and screaming my name outside."

With a wicked smile, he leapt to his feet and then scooped Bella up bridal-style, ignoring her as she batted at him ineffectually.

"Here." He moved quickly around the clearing and picked up their discarded clothing, handing it to Bella to hold. "Let's get you home and into the bath."

Bella, in the meantime, took advantage of the position she was in as he walked back home, and placed small pecks along his neck and jaw line. "And will you be joining me in this bath?" she asked throatily.

"Try and stop me," he promised.

They had almost made it out of the forest when a sudden rustling to one side, made Paul pause and growl loudly.

"What the fuck are you two doing around here?"

One grinning face and then another peered around a nearby tree and Bella squeaked and tried to arrange their clothing to cover her naked form at the sight of Collin and Brady.

"We heard screaming," Brady explained, "and we thought we should check it out and make sure that Bella wasn't being murdered."

"We didn't know that it was _you_ she was out here with," Collin added.

"Well, now you do," Paul snarled. "So fuck off, or make you two scream as well, only it'll be in pain."

Cackling like hyenas, the two boys disappeared as quickly and silently as they'd appeared. Brady shouting out behind them.

"We'll just let Sam know that your balls finally dropped and you mated with Bella."

Paul growled unhappily and took a step in their direction, only for Bella to cup his face and hush him.

"Ssshh, they're just being boys. You know they get like that sometimes."

"Doesn't mean they can run their mouths whenever they feel like it without expecting some consequences."

"No," Bella agreed. "But you have more important things to worry about, like my bath for one."

He smiled happily at her and she beamed back.

She loved this. She loved the feeling of peace and security that her new mark gave her. And she loved how happy it made him. It was so nice to see him smile openly at her like this again.

"Come on," she said. "Let's go and make up for the last year."

He threw his head back and laughed loudly. "Let's."

He picked up the pace and soon their home was in sight.

Just before they entered the bathroom, Bella thought she heard him muttering to himself.

"Just you wait, my mate, the things I'm going to do to you..."


End file.
